Stardust

Imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.--Albert Einstein

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of creating something out of nothing.

I just spoke at and participated in RISE global week (grassroots, city-wide, peer-led entrepreneur conference) in Austin and was in heaven. I had the same feeling in 2000 when I attended my first International Coaches Federation professional conference with 3,000 coaches from around the world---energized, excited and a sense of coming home. I was with my peeps.

Entrepreneurs are an interesting bunch. Doug Ulman, CEO of LiveStrong said Friday night at the RISE Fast Pitch, “Entrepreneurs see a need, they solve a problem and are driven to serve.” And, I would add, they say “yes” when many say no.

Being an entrepreneur is not everyone’s cup of tea. But, those who take the plunge usually agree: they feel they didn’t have a choice. They ultimately did “that which they MUST do.”

I distinctly remember fighting my inner compass which kept clearly pointing to the path of self-employment back in 1999. I think if I would have foregone this route, I would have combusted or gone crazy. I had to follow my heart and birth what was begging to come forth—regardless of how bumpy the road ahead appeared to be.

My first business was formally launched in 2000 (I was in labor for 2 years before she arrived) and my second in 2007 (which was never meant to be a business; those are usually the best kind) and I also launched a publishing arm (Balanced Living Press) that same year.

It’s mind boggling when you think about creating something out of thin air. Yes, most of us have done our due diligence, established a need, researched the marketplace and synthesized years of related experience before we launch. But starting a business is always a big risk, and ultimately we’re still testing our “recipe,” hoping our hunch, idea, nudge or feeling wasn’t just something we took action on after a late night and too many glasses of wine!

When I asked the 25 women in my RISE session last Thursday morning to share why they started their businesses, I heard: I wanted to more fully express my potential … share my creativity … make a difference in kids lives … communicate my ideas … be in charge of my time … experience more purpose-driven work and … I was tired of giving all my ideas and time away to a company that was getting rich off of me!. Not one person said it was just to make money.

These women, myself included, are what Mark Henricks, author of Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business That Gives You a Life calls lifestyle entrepreneurs. People who are turning to entrepreneurship to support the life they have always dreamed of.

Looking back now on the last twelve years I see how the seeds I planted have blossomed, grown and are beginning to stand on their own in the garden. They’ve got roots.

If someone would have told me in the nineties (as I slogged through various challenging, often bureaucratic but always intellectually stimulating marketing communications/PR positions) that ten years later, I’d have two businesses, be my own boss, have the option to take Fridays off, work with whomever I wanted, published two books and be working on my third, and be collaborating daily with an amazing team of like-minded women, I would have had a very hard time conceiving that this life was possible.

I just picked up Daphne Rose Kingma’s book The Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart (New World Library) as research for my new book project on everyday spirituality. It’s a great resource (it just won a prestigious spiritual book award) and I remember Daphne sharing in an interview that the messages in the book were “given to her.”

I so resonate with this. I think this is what we experience as entrepreneurs, as well.

On the outside-in, it may look like authors, artists, musicians and innovators are creating something out of nothing … out of stardust. But, in reality, we’re just making ourselves available and receptive to receive what’s ready to be birthed …what is ours to breathe in and exhale, to share with others.

We just happened to have said “yes”--after we could no longer bear the unrelenting tapping on our shoulder--to giving the idea a voice, a stage, a chance.

A Personal Invitation: Are you self-employed and feel overwhelmed, pulled in too many directions or in extreme need of a day completely devoted to gaining clarity/focus around your business direction? Every quarter I take a one-day retreat to help me stay on track and focused on what matters most. I'm now inviting my friends to join me. Learn more about my 3/25 Small Business Visioning/Planning Retreat.

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:
>Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
>Attend a retreat/event including our April 29-May 1 Kripalu Self-Renewal Retreat in the Berkshire Mountains of MA
>Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Teleclasses and read my March Life Balance newsletter
>Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
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The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Image: Stardust--a large number of distant stars appearing to the observer as a cloud of dust.

Inspiration

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. -- Twyla Tharp

I finished my writing sabbatical on Friday and felt some sadness.

I could have kept going. Maybe I’ll take another break this fall. I’m definitely feeling ripe around some themes that are brewing, emerging and calling to me right now.

It’s been interesting to keep expanding the boundaries of the themes I speak a lot about—self-renewal and life balance—and taking these teachings into other realms. Like peeling away the layers of an onion.

During the last week of my sabbatical, my husband and I attended a benefit concert for the Midwives Alliance of North America. Iron and Wine (and Calexico) played. I had just been introduced to Sam Beam (singer for Iron and Wine) through Austin City Limits and was really blown away by his songwriting and artistic ability. His poetic music really moved me (I love the Trapeze Singer).

During that same week I finished Crossing to Avalon (a chronicle of a woman’s spiritual pilgrimage) by one of my mentors, Jean Shinoda Bolen. I was transported to Glastonbury and the Chartres Cathedral felt like I was walking besides Jean as she rounded labyrinths, crossed seas and explored these ethereal sacred sites.

And yesterday I spent the day relaxing in the cool waters of the Guadalupe under the tall rock wall at Guadalupe State Park with some friends. The natural beauty of the river, thousands of different colored and shaped rocks and hundred year old trees lining the banks were so delicious, I almost felt stuffed--as if I’d eaten too much.

Since I unplugged last month, I’m much more attuned to sounds, colors, smells and aesthetics. Last week, I couldn’t get enough art, music, books and found myself experiencing sights and sounds like I never had before.

For me, a central component of emotional well-being or balanced living is living an inspired life.

I think we all have moments where we feel like we’re in a black and white movie and our actions seem rote, but when we take the time and energy to breathe color, vibrancy, poetry and passion into our lives, we feel inspired. And often, we remember who we really are.

And for me, that’s what it’s all about.

P.S. August is a great month to take a retreat. I just shared some tips in my latest life balance newsletter on how to create a “pause” in your life. Check it out if this speaks to you.

JOIN A GROUP, ATTEND A RETREAT/WORKSHOP OR DIALOGUE WITH ME: Would you like to learn more about the power of self-care and how being kinder to yourself can change your life? Join us in the cool Berkshire mountains in MA, August 13-15 at the beautiful Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health for our Self-Renewal Retreat. One of my favorite spots on the planet and the retreat center that I visit when I'm ready to make a huge life shift! Visit our calendar to learn more about upcoming events including my Aug. 27th Career Strategy Workshop: Find a Fit, Create a Plan, Love Your Workshop and our FREE September 9th Live Inside Out teleclass on Strategies for Balanced Living.

Also, check out our Live Inside Out community and share how you create balance in your relationship.

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: While on the banks of the Guadalupe River, this stunning bird (I later found out it's called a painted bunting) visited us while we lounged in the shade. We couldn't take our eyes off of her.

Listening

Last night was the first time I've slept through the night in quite a while.

For the greater part of the last 30 days I have been waking up abruptly every night between 3 and 4 a.m. and have not been able to go back to sleep.


Yes, I'm exhausted and for someone who has always been a sound sleeper, this has been perplexing and extremely frustrating. From what I'm reading about women's health and perimenopause, this symptom is quite common for women in their forties who are beginning to experience fluctuations in their hormone levels, but sorry, I'm not ready to give up my 8 hours/night quite yet!

(Image above is an underwater shot from the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA, Renee Peterson Trudeau)

On top of the insomnia, I've been having off-the charts, extremely intense dreams about my parents who have passed, and archetypal themes like birth, rebirth, death, flying, aging, going back to school, etc. that are staying with me for days to come. (I recently stumbled upon an interesting interview Oprah did with Rodger Kamenetz, author of The History of Last Night's Dream; watch their interview here on Oprah's Soul Series: http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/inspiration/pkgoprahssoulserieswebcast/20080825_oaf_oss_rkamenetz. Kamenetz encourages readers to use dreams as a way to rediscover the soul and believes we greatly underestimate the force and power of our dream life.)

Early yesterday morning, while my house was still quiet and my son was upstairs engrossed in Sesame Street, I sat down to journal about what’s been going on around my 3:00 a.m. rendezvous (Wayne Dyer, Ph.D., author of Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling believes this is the “witching hour," the time when we are most creative, most attuned to our souls and when the “veil” between our conscious and our subconscious is the thinnest. He says the inspiration for most of his books comes to him at this time).

For the first time, rather than being angry about these sleepless jolts, I began to feel curious and asked “What is it that I need to hear?” .... “What are you trying to tell me?”

My dreams have had a real sense of urgency, it does feel as if something –a message, a breakthrough, a change in perspective, an insight, a release of the old—is trying to come through.

I didn’t get a moment of profound insight while journaling, but what I did hear--quite loudly-- is that I’m not listening closely enough and I need to take an entire day--sooner than later—to be still, quiet and ask this question again. So, that’s my plan, and I blocked out an upcoming date on my calendar to do this.

And last night, for the first time in a month, I slept through the night.